Abbott Web ad claims Davis flip-flopped on death penalty

AUSTIN – Attorney General Greg Abbott’s campaign for governor this morning ramped up its criticism of opponent Wendy Davis’ position on the death penalty, releasing a Web video that accuses the state senator of flip-flopping on the issue.

The 30-second spot cites a Houston Chronicle story about how Davis, the Democratic nominee, voted for an open-ended moratorium on the death penalty as a Fort Worth City Council member more than a decade ago. That move’s drawing fresh scrutiny as Davis runs for governor against Abbott, the Republican nominee, while publicly backing capital punishment.

“In 2000, Wendy Davis said she opposed the death penalty, even for the most heinous crimes,” the narrator says as headlines and TV segments related to the Chronicle article appear on the screen. “When the resolution failed, Wendy Davis brought it up again. Now Wendy Davis claims she supports the death penalty despite voting to end it.”

“Can Texans really trust Wendy Davis?” the narrator concludes as those words come into focus on the screen and ominous music grows louder.

The Davis campaign dismissed the video as an effort by Abbott’s team to “distract from his record of siding with a corporation against a victim of rape,” an allegation central to the Democrat’s first TV ad for the general election.

“Senator Davis supports the death penalty and as governor will enforce it,” Davis spokesman Zac Petkanas said in a statement. “In fact, she voted to expand the death penalty to those who murder children under the age of 10.

“This non-binding resolution from fourteen years ago called for a temporary moratorium while specific steps were taken to ensure it’s being administered fairly and accurately,” Petkanas added. “Those steps were taken and Senator Davis remains a proponent of the death penalty as ultimate punishment.”